Gulab Jamun

Gulab Jamun is a delicious Indian version of donuts immersed in warm sweet syrup. As India’s most popular dessert, gulab jamun is a staple in most parts of the country. Gulab jamuns are served for almost every celeberations. Gulab jamuns can be served warm or at room temperature. Gulab jamun is one of the desserts I make the more often, because this is an easy recipe to make and in my family everyone like them especially my grandkids.

Course
Dessert

Cuisine
Indian

Prep Time15minutes

Cook Time30minutes

Total Time45minutes

Servings10Gulab Jamuns

Ingredients

1cupnonfat milk powder

1/4cupAll Purpose flour(plain flour, maida)

3tablespoonsunsalted butter at room temperature

1/4cuproom temperature whole milk

Pinch of baking soda

1 3/4cupsugar

1 1/2cupwater

4cardamom pods (ilachi)(coarsely ground)

1tablespoonsliced almonds and pistachio

Oil for deep-frying

Method

Syrup

In a large pan, combine the water, sugar, and ground cardamom seeds and bring to a boil. Let the syrup boil for another minute to completely dissolve the sugar. Turn off the heat.

Set the syrup aside.

Gulab Jamun

In a bowl, mix the milk powder, flour and baking soda.

Add the butter and mix well.

Add milk to make soft dough. The dough will be sticky. The milk powder will absorb the extra milk.

If the dough is dry, add more milk to make it soft. Let the dough sit for a few minutes.

Grease your palms with butter and knead the dough.

Divide the dough into about ten equal parts and roll them into round balls.

Heat at least one inch of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. To test, place a small piece of dough into the oil; the oil should sizzle and the dough should take a minute to rise. If the dough rises faster, the oil is too hot; if oil does not sizzle, it is not hot enough.

Place the gulab jamuns in the frying pan. Do not crowd them, as the gulab jamuns will expand to about double their original volume.

Fry the gulab jamuns on medium heat for about seven minutes, rolling them around for even browning until dark brown.

Let the gulab jamuns cool a few minutes before placing into the hot (not boiling) syrup.

Let the gulab jamuns sit in the syrup for at least 20 minutes prior to serving.

Tips

If the gulab jamuns are fried on high heat, they will be hard inside and not fully cooked.

Too much baking soda will make the gulab jamuns too soft or cause them to break when frying.

Don’t place the gulab jamuns in the syrup immediately after frying, or they will lose their shape and be too chewy.

Serving suggestions

Gulab jamuns can be served warm or at room temperature. They can also be served with ice cream.

Recipe Notes

Gulab jamuns can be kept at room temperature for about a week and up to one month when refrigerated. They can be frozen for months.

Hi Manjula aunty,
Thanks for the awesome recipe! But I’m doing something wrong..I literally tried the recipe 4 times and the gulab jamuns tasted great except that they are CHEWY…kind of taste like rubbery/spongy when you bite. I did not put the gulab jamuns immediately into the syrup after frying. The dough that I made was very soft and very-2 sticky.
Please help me out!! And, I will try this for the 5th time…
ThAnK YoU sO mUcH!
Joti

Anjali, if you just Google “euro cuisine yogurt” all kinds of information comes up including a variety of instructions. Give that a try. Or go back to the store you bought it from and see if someone there knows how to use the machine and can explain it to you. Good Luck.

I made the gulab jamuns with the above recipe. They were good except for the fact that their brown skin was hard. I fried them at the right tempearture as suggested above. And Soaked them in room temperature syrup. Any suggestions to make my Gulab Jamuns soft???

Manjusha Aunty,
I have Milk-Mawa powder (deep) at home. Can I substitue that for whole milk and non-fat milk powder? In other words, can I use 1 1/4 cups of milk mawa powder with 1/4 cup of all purpose flour to make jamuns?

hello Manjula anty…basically i made gulab jamun lyk about 3 time now yeah and when ever i make it does turn out tasty but it is always hard from outside and not cooked from inside..the middle part is not cooked…..and when i try to cook everything the gulab jamun turns black….
any suggestion is it because i use ghee instead of unsalted butter…i dunno y it is always not cooked in the middle part..

hello manjula anty hm……… i made gulab jamun more than 3 times but it is always hard from inside and uncooked from inside but it looks proper cooked from outside..i tried to cook it inside and outside but while i do that my gulab jamun turns black instead of readish…….can you please tell me why is that???
Thank you

Hi Majula Aunty, I tried the jamuns but they turned out to be too soft and broke when frying. You give exact measurements for all the ingredients. Can you tell me exactly how much baking soda I must use.
Should I use 1/2 tsp , 1/4 tsp …….
Please advise exact amount.

First I love your recipes! Am so glad with it. Am from the Netherlands. We cant by Non fat milkpowder here in the Netherlands, only full cream milk powder. Am making all my sweets with this powder. This weekend am goning to try the gulab jamuns. But I whant to know what is Bisquik? We dont now that here in the Neterlands. Is that the same as Self-raising flour?

Hi Aunty..I tried gulab jamun by your method and it comes out very nice.The problem is same day it was soft fom inside, but when i freeze them the next day it became hard from inside.I tried it 3-4 times and everytime same problem comes up.Tell me where I went wrong?

I tried making gulab jamun using your recipe. Only difference was that I used baking powder instead of the baking soda ( I didn’t have any of the soda on hand at home) and the gulab jamun turned out great. My mom, who is a great cook in my opinion, was very impressed and couldn’t wait to make them herself using your recipe. Thanks so much for sharing!!

I made the gulab jamuns but they started crumbling while frying and were too soft. I had followed the instructions but had doubled the measurements as I wanted to make around 40. What could have gone wrong?

I tried your gulab jamun. The dough came out really good, but when I cooked in oil, the inner part of jamun didn’t get cooked. I tried in several ways, making small balls, but If I leave it for longer time, it turns dark brown. What should I do to make it better? Thank you.

Namaste Aunty,
till now i have tried your recipes for jalebi, khasta kachori, mathri, pedas and gulab jamun and and without an exception all of them have been extremely successful. I was so surprised to know that its so easy to make all these things at home. Thanks to you, we had a Diwali quite like India here in Netherlands. Thank you so much one again.
regards,
Janhavi

I tried your gulab jamuns – exactly as you mentioned and they turned out awesome! My husband loves gulab jamuns but I had never made them. THese were so simple to make that I can make this very often now 🙂

I tried making the gulab jamun, but as soon as I put the balls in oil, they disintegrate… literally… not just break or crack, but disappear in the oil in a few seconds and become powder… i still have some dough left.. can I do something to make it work.

I have already tried adding some more maida and ghee.. but didnt work. What could be the reason… I did use milk powder that is around 7-8 months old.

hi,
i read ur complain first thing u have to notice the recipe correctly and if u r minlk powder is not expired so its good u have make the gulab jamun dough soft then it will not become powder and notice dont put expired items

I am trying your recipe for first time. I tried your Peda recipe and they turned out awesome. Thank you. I was also looking for Surti Undhiyu recipe. All of your recipes tured out so great, I wanted to ask you if you have a good Surti Undhiyu recipe.

dear aunty,
i made gulab jamuns before knowing your recipe. my gulab jamuns were hard and not cooked inside.
my mom says that i should not put flour. can we omit it? and i knead it with warm water, is it ok?

I always make Gulab Jamuns from your recipe and they turn out really good. I wanted to try rolling them in coconut powder as you have suggested in tips. 🙂
I have a question should I roll and keep gulab jamuns now only or the rolling should be done just before serving?
I have already prepared the Gulab jamuns and I will be serving them on saturday in picnic.

Namaste Aunty ji,
I love all your receipes…. I love the way you teach. I have a question, I bought skim milk powder instead of non-fat beacuse I couldn’t find that. So when I made Gulab Jamuns, they became little hard from inside. And I found that the dough was also very hard. It was not that soft. What should I do when I make it next time. should I change the milk powder or mix some more Ghee or milk to knead the dough softer?
I will be very thankful if you reply me back.
Thank you……….

Thank you so much or your website! I have been looking for authentic Indian cuisine recipes for some time now, and your website is the best one I have seen! Your recipes are awesome (luckily I have an Indian market near by to purchase some of the spices) and the videos are a great way to show what the dish is supposed to look like when you are finished. Thank you for your online “cook book” and I can’t wait to try some of these recipes myself.

I use Bisquick instead of all purpose flout. I also use heavy whipped cream instead of plain milk.
By substituting above ingredits my gulab jamun are better than other people. I have served my gulab jamun at many wedding parties and people always praise them.

I tried Gulab Jamun as per your recipe before the party day, for the first time they came out so hard that I was discouraged to make them. But I did not gave up. The second batch was better than the first one, which gave me some encouragement to make them again on the day of the party. On the day of party they came out AWESOME!! Everyone loved them. I should advice everyone to try making this before the day they are planning so that they know what needs to be adjusted. I realized from the first and second batch that the dough has to be soft, so I added more milk than specified in the ingredients in the third batch and while making 40 gulab jamuns (becasue I’m a slow cook) I was frying 10 Gulab Jamun at a time I try to add few drops of milk to the dough so that it won’t dry. That helped me. THANK YOU SO MUCH for this. Do you know how to make vegan Gulab Jamun??

Hi manjula aunty,
i tried gulab jamuns as u mentioned in ur recipe and they were the best a couple of times and after taht didn’t quite turn out that good i dont know why?
i was thinking the baking soda…if you could tell us exactly how much baking soda is needed i am sure it will help.
i put more soda last time and then next time i was too cautious and put less and they became hard.
so if you could give some measurement it will be great.
thanks for your recipes though! i really enjoy them.

I am a regualar visitor of your site and I have tried making paneer, aloo paratha, gobhi paratha, gajar ka halwa, kadhai paneer, samosa, vegetable rice and pakoras. Everything had come very well the first time. Thanks a lot for your great videos. Please continue posting videos

I made your Gulab Jaman today! 5 five stars again! your are an incredible teacher! they were Gulab Jaman with a difference, melt in you mouth moments, incredibly soft dumplings. Hands down I am your great fan!

Thank you for your recipes and detailed videos! I am an american but I love food from India. I had these at a wonderful Indian restaurant and loved them so much I just had to make them at home for my family. After searching for them on the internet I found your website. I followed your recipe and instructions and they came out perfect, even better then the restaurant! Homemade is always better! Thank you again! And to anyone who reads this, try them, and if they don’t come out right, try again, they are worth it!

hello,
i made gulab jamun as the way you told but i don’t know whats wrong with them they all turned so hard that even a niddle couldn,d pass through it. please let me know where i am wrong .
i will try them again next week.
regards

hi manjula aunty
i made gulab jamuns for the first time following ur receipe, can u guide me where i went wrong…….when i fried the jamuns in oil on very low flame, they got swollen and absorbed a lot of oil, became double the size in the oil, lost shape and was very porous (holes) and soft just like BREAD…..it felt like i am frying bread……i was afraid that they will break apart but they didnt…..i dont know why this happened…….
thanks n looking for ur help
smita

hello, i have enjoyed making some of your receipes from your site.
you explain it well and a lot of the ingredients I always have. Please continue with different receipes. I do not use onion and garlic and have enjoyed following your receipes.
God bless you.

Dear Aunty,
I did the gulab jamuns exactly as u said. They turned out taste-wise awesomely delightful. They were soft as the syrup got absorbed till the core. Everything just fine. But the shape after soaking in syrup for 5 min squeezed. One portion went inside of each ball. I cooled them just before pouring in syrup for 2 minutes. but still the shape was lost. Please do help. I just couldn’t find what went wrong or what to do! help!

Hi Manjula aunty,
This recipe is fantastic! I tried making gulabjamuns for the first time today….they’ve turned out super-soft and super-delicious! Thanks for the detailed instructions and videos on all your recipes! I’m sure girls like me in the U.S. who don’t have their moms around to teach them how to cook, really appreciate your fantastic website! Thank you so much!
Reema

Hi Manjulaji,
I tried your recipe last night for my 8 year old’s birthday. The gulab jamuns turned out hard..and chewy. I used to always make from the MTR or Gits mix and it used to come out well. But I was tempted seeing this recipe, hence the trial. What do you think could have gone wrong? When I made the dough I added the proper quantity of ingredients that you mentioned. Inspite of adding the 1/4 cup milk, the dough was a little hard. So I added little more milk and kneaded it. The milk that I added was not room temperature, it was cold. Do you think that made the jamuns hard. Please respond. Thank you.

hi manjula aunty i am making this dish and i want to know if you can use unsalted butter that has cream in it because when i went shopping for unsalted butter and i checked the ingridents it all said that it has cream so i need your help please… thank you

hello Manjula Aunty,
i tried this dessert,and it came out very well.my husband loved it.
thank u so much for this wonderful receipe.i want to know how to make masalapoories,that is my favourite chat .can u add that item to the chat list?

hi Manjula ji
i tried your recepie of naan khatai which become good. But when i tried your recepie of gulab jamun as i knead the flour it becomes so hard n oily that i cnt make balls of it. it started breaking bcz it was to hard to hold. what went wrong even if i used the same quantity as you suggested. if the skimmed milk is not always fatfree . tell me diff .

kem chho? saru chhe? good i want to thank you to teach me gulab jamun. i mad it and it was so ,,, tasty and mouthwatering dish. all jamun was very good , soft with jali inside. wow ,,,i enjoyed it to cooked and eat. i feel bit more confident to make Indian-Gujarati midhhai as i am Gujarati from Gujarat.

Your recipes are very useful to me, Today i have tried Gulab jamun and they came out very nice,
soft and very good. and instead of butter i have added ghee than also they came came out verygood
my husband liked them and he was saying that there is no diffrence between the khoya and khoya
which will do with drymik powder.

hi aunty,
i tried this wonderful dish twice the first time it all ended in the pan
not even one piece has survived,
the second time i added more butter and it went well
but i noticed that the gulabjamun is rough from the outside ,
when i ate it before in a restaurant is was really soft from the outside why is that , and was the butter the cause of a better gulabjamun in my second trial ?
thanx in advance

Gulab jamuns dough should be soft because in few minutes you will notice dough will be dry because milk powder has absorve the milk. if dough is dry it will be rough texture. Gulab jamuns will tend to break because of too much baking soda added to the recipe. Gulab jamuns should be cooked on low heat.